{"id":4839,"date":"2013-09-18T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T13:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/?p=4839"},"modified":"2013-09-18T09:00:32","modified_gmt":"2013-09-18T13:00:32","slug":"the-world-is-no-disposable-ladder-to-heaven-rip-rfc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2013\/09\/18\/the-world-is-no-disposable-ladder-to-heaven-rip-rfc\/","title":{"rendered":"The World is No Disposable Ladder To Heaven: RIP, RFC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

Until 2003, Father Robert Farrar Capon served as an assisting priest at the Episcopal church fewer than 300 yards up the street where I grew up. I can remember learning to ride my bicycle in shaky circles in the parking lot of the historic (circa 1830) Baptist church that my father pastored, next to the parsonage where we lived. When I was ready to brave the sidewalk, I pedaled confidently until, passing Holy Trinity Episcopal, I\u2019d invariably begin to totter. \u201cWhy do you always go wobbly when you pass the Episcopalians?\u201d my father teased. \u201cDo you find their theology wobbly?\u201d<\/p>\n

In truth, I was drawn to Episcopal worship before I had words to explain why. In my own church we sang songs that promised that if we turned our eyes upon Jesus, \u201cthe things of earth\/will go strangely dim\/in the light of his glory and grace.\u201d I was weak in the knees for a way of worshiping that did not pit the \u201cthings of earth\u201d against the \u201cglory and grace\u201d of Christ, but was capable of seeing them\u2014the humblest of elements\u2014charged with such glory. This is what makes The Supper of the Lamb<\/em> remarkable both as a work of theology and as a cookbook: \u201cThe world is no disposable ladder to heaven. Earth is not convenient; it is good; it is, by God\u2019s design, our lawful love,\u201d Capon wrote. For Capon, discussing the physics involved in the preparation of a perfectly smooth gravy\u2014down to the details of what sort of whisk does the job best\u2014was of a piece with celebrating the goodness of God who created it all for delight, who means to lift all the good things of this world to grace, to that<\/p>\n

unimaginable Session<\/p>\n

In which the Lion lifts<\/p>\n

Himself Lamb Slain<\/p>\n

And, Priest and Victim<\/p>\n

Brings<\/p>\n

The City<\/p>\n

Home.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Robert Farrar Capon\u2019s writing is charged with an intense love for God and for all that God has made; it is deeply opinionated, utterly unique, and saturated with grace, reflecting the quirky appeal of the man himself, who, though now lifted to glory, leaves behind a warm invitation to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good.<\/em><\/p>\n

{Read more of this piece, which originally appeared at Christianity Today<\/em> here<\/a>. Spoiler: RFC once asserted that all mothers should be plump, and he once burned a $20 bill in the pulpit!<\/em>}<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until 2003, Father Robert Farrar Capon served as an assisting priest at the Episcopal church fewer than 300 yards up the street where I grew up. I can remember learning to ride my bicycle in shaky circles in the parking lot of the historic (circa 1830) Baptist church that my father pastored, next to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2070,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[515,829,830,831,1084,1963,2048,2244],"class_list":["post-4839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christianity-today","tag-episcopal-authors","tag-episcopal-priests","tag-episcopalians","tag-greenport-ny","tag-robert-farrar-capon","tag-shelter-island-ny","tag-the-supper-of-the-lamb"],"yoast_head":"\nThe World is No Disposable Ladder To Heaven: RIP, RFC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Until 2003, Father Robert Farrar Capon served as an assisting priest at the Episcopal church fewer than 300 yards up the street where I grew up. 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